The Museum is temporarily closed to the public to prepare for the exciting changes planned for our exhibition galleries. Selected education programs are still available by reservation. The administrative offices, collections department, and the Osborne Library remain open by appointment. We appreciate your patience during our renovations. We are tentatively planning on reopening this Fall. Stay tuned for further information.
What Followed Me Home: Collecting Antique Quilts, Fabrics, and Tools, a special exhibition from the personal collection of well-respected quilt historian Stephanie Hatch opens at the American Textile History Museum (ATHM) on Thursday, August 7, 2008.
Over the past 30 years, Ms. Hatch has traveled throughout New England, looking at quilts, fabrics, and tools. ‘What followed her home’ is a wonderful collection of quilts, from doll-size to full-size, and fabrics from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The quilts on view show a variety of styles and patterns, and the fabrics include resist, block, copperplate, and roller prints with significant vertical repeats. Visitors will also see fabric samples and clothing from the ATHM collection that Ms. Hatch has selected to accompany several of the quilts.
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With 2008 a presidential election year, Ms. Hatch includes colorful New England political quilts featuring fabric from presidential banners, as well as period campaign buntings, that show how campaigns were waged on cloth fifty and one hundred years ago. Commemorative textiles that celebrate personal milestones, the United States Centennial, and the 100th anniversary of the presidency are also included. Politics aside, some quilts also incorporate early 19th-century children’s handkerchiefs that once functioned as teaching devices for the alphabet, Sunday school lessons, and fairy tales.
In describing her selections for this special exhibition, Ms. Hatch notes, “Chintz quilts in simple star, 4-patch, and 9-patch patterns are as compelling today as they were originally when, in the glow of a candle, they warmed the body and soul.”
Ms. Hatch has also chosen several log cabin quilts from the last half of the 19th century in a variety of configurations including clocks, a streak of lightning, a barn-raising, and a pineapple. As precursors of the 20th-century grandmother’s flower garden quilts, the 19th-century English honeycomb or mosaic quilts represent a tour de force of patient and precise piecing. Signature quilts are accompanied by 19th-century signing tools, and quilting patterns made from wood, tin and cardboard are also displayed.
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What Followed Me Home: Collecting Antique Quilts, Fabrics, and Tools, opens in conjunction with the annual Lowell Quilt Festival. President and CEO James S. Coleman remarks that, “ATHM is delighted to have this opportunity to feature Ms. Hatch’s remarkable collection of antique quilts and artifacts accompanied by a selection of our own fabric samples and clothing from the same period. We are pleased to join our cultural partners in this city-wide celebration of quilts.”
ATHM is pleased to offer free admission during the Lowell Quilt Festival from August 7 through August 10. Museum hours are from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Friday August 8 through Sunday August 10. Visitors may also preview the Museum’s new core exhibition, Textile Revolution:An Exploration through Space which is undergoing renovation in anticipation of the grand opening in the fall.
Ms. Hatch will conduct a guided tour of the special exhibition on Thursday afternoon, August 7, at 2 p.m. at no charge. Space for the tour is limited and there are no advance reservations. The American Textile History Museum is located at 491 Dutton Street, Lowell, MA 01854. Phone 978-441-0400 ext. 241, or visit the Museum’s website www.athm.org for information.
